Stacking mechanism



S. GRUNLEE STACKING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 5, 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov.25, 1924. 1,516,779

S. GRUNLEE STACKING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 5, 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGZqdao;

6 Sheets-Sheet 5 S. GRUNLEE STAGKING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 5, 1922 Nov.25, 1924- s. GRUNLEE STACKING' MECHANISM Filed Aug. 5, 192,2-Sheets-Sheet 4 1,516,770 s. GRUNLEE STACKING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 5,L922 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 104 FIG. 5

FIGS

IHWHII Nov. 25, 1924 1,516,770

S. GRUNLEE STACKING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 5, 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 FIG. 73

FIG. 8 m2 FIG? Ma 5 W W mw Patented Nov. 25, 1924.

SIGWALD GRUNLEE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO SEARS, BOEBUCK AND00., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

STAOKING MECHANISM.

Application filed August 5, 1922.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that L SIGWALD GRUNLEE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Stacking Mechanism, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to stacking mecha nisms generally and is hereinshown as embodied in a machine for automatically stacking catalogs orthe like. It is an object of the present invention to provide a machinefor handling catalogs as they are released from a wrapping machine orother machine which has performed some opera tion upon the catalogs, themachine being adapted automatically to operate successively or atintervals as the catalogs are released thereto and to place the same instacks preferably of a uniform height, for convenience in the furtherhandling of the catalogs.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine embodying inaddition to means for feeding the catalogs as they are released to themachine, an elevating means adapted to be placed into operationautomatically upon the arrival successively of the catalogs, theelevating means being associated with a support to which the catalogsare elevated one by one to form a stack.

A further object of the invention is to provide in connection with thestack support, automatically operating means for regulating the heightof the stack, there being provided in connection with this means, anejector dependent thereon for its operation adapted automatically toeject the stack of catalogs from the support preferably upon a rack ortable from whence they may be taken to be bound into bales of a uniformsize for storage or shipment.

Ancillary objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparentin the following detailed description. Referring to the drawings whichform a part hereof, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine. Fig. 2is a plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken onthe line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the operating mechanism of the machine inend elevation. Fig. t is an enlarged vertical section takenapproximately on the line 4 l of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a similarly enlargedfragmentary Serial No. 579,902.

transverse vertical sectional detail taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.Fig. 6 is a fragmentary transverse vertical section taken on the line 66of Fig. 4:. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section of a portion of Fig. 3 beingtaken approximately on the line 77 thereof. Fig.8 is a horizontalsection of a portion of Fig. 4 and is taken on the line 88 thereof, andFig. 9 is a fragmentary detail of the clutch for controlling theoperation of the ejector, this clutch being similar in construction andin its mode of operation to the clutch which controls the operation ofthe catalogs elevating means.

Throughout the views the same reference numerals designate the sameparts. Before proceeding to a detailed description of the mechanism itwill be pointed out that the invention is capable, broadly speaking, ofembodiment in machines for handling articles of various sizes and forms,although for the purposes of the present description I have chosen toillustrate a machine designed particularly for handling catalogs such asare sent out to customers by some firms, particularly mail order houses.It is to be understood that the following specific description of thepreferred embodiment of the invention is merely illustrative and by wayof example and is for the purpose of conveying an understanding of theinvention. It will therefore be appreciated that this description is notto be construed, in any way, as attaching any limitations upon theinvention to the particular embodiment disclosed. In fact, the inventionwithout considerable modification is adapted for the handling of fiatarticles particularly of most any kind or form and, although in theembodiment herein disclosed it is contemplated that the articles to bestacked shall be of a substantially uniform size, it will be seen thatarticles of varying sizes or thicknesses may be handled and that themeans for limiting the height of the stacks is adapted to. operatesimply to produce stacks of a uni form height. The invention istherefore to be limited in its scope in the appended claims only so faras is necessitated by the prior art.

Before proceeding with the detailed clescription of the mechanismforming the present invention, an introductory state, ment as to thenature of the work performed thereby would appear desirable. The chuteshown at extends from a wrapping machine or in "fact any machine whichhas completed some operation of the catalogs to be stacked. So far asthe present invention is concerned this chute may extend from a catalogbinder, an inserting machine, an addressing machine or the like or thecatalogs may be fed by hand down the chute. Usually the catalogs willenter upon the runway 11 in haphazard fashion or at least indisassociated relation and if, as was assumed at the outset, thecatalogs have been discharged from a wrapping machine, a wrapper willenvelop the same tightly and thus make the catalogs less unwieldy andsufficiently compact so that the work of stacking them is greatlyfacilitated. Where no wrapper has been placed upon the catalogs it mightbe well to feed the same back binding forward so that the leading end ofthe catalog will have proper rigidity to engage and actuate the tripper12 at the end of its horizontal travel through the machine. The tripperupon actuation operates an elevator in the form of a table 13 to raisethe catalogs preferably one by one up into the stack support 1 1. Thelatter has automatically operating dogs 15 which recede when the catalogis first entered into the support but which thereupon return to normalposition to support the catalog. In the event other catalogs havepreviously been elevated to the support the dogs hold them in stackedrelation. Upon the attainn'ient of a predetermined height of stack, atripper 16 is operated automatically to actuate an ejector 17 to ejectthe stacked catalogues from the support out upon a rack or table 18. Thestacks of catalogs thus formed will, of course, be of uniform height andmay be taken off the table and placed on trucks to be hauled or as issometimes done, they may be taken and bound into bales simply for the puposes of convenience in handling or for shipping or storage.

With this preliminary description of the operations performed by themachine I will now proceed to a more detailed description of the machineitself. The machine is made up of a main frame composed of two pairs ofside members or pedestals 19 and 20 held in adjusted spaced relationlaterally and longitudinally by tie rods 21 and respectively. Anauxiliary frame is disposed adj acent one end of the main frame and carice the stacking mechanism proper, the means for the operation of whichis carried chiefly by the main frame. This auxiliary frame comprisesside members 23 held in spaced relation by a cross piece 24 and boltedto gether preferably as at 25. Stub tie rods 26 extend between the mainframe and the auxiliary frame in order to provide for relativelongitudinal ad ustment of the frames and to secure the same rigidly inadjusted relation. The side members of each of the frames as shown haveflanged foot portions whereby the same may be rigidly bolted down.

Mounted adjacent the main frame is a gear casing 27 wherein suitabletransmission may be provided for driving a sprocket 28 from the pulley29, the latter having the usual belt connection with a motor or the likefor driving purposes. A drive chain 30 passing over the sprocket 28passes in turn over sprockets 31 and 32 on its upper and lower laps,respectively, and over a sprocket 33 on the shaft 34 journalled in theside members 19 of the frame. The sprocket 31 is simply an idlermountedon a suitable stud on one of the side members 20 of the framewhile the sprocket 32 serves to drive the shaft 35 journalled in theside members 20 of the frame. A second sprocket 36 is carried upon theshaft 35 and serves to drive at double the speed of the shaft 35, thesprocket 37 on the shaft 38 through a sprocket chain as shown. As willpresently appear, the shaft 38 is the source of power for the operationof the elevating means and indirectly also for the operation of theejector. The chain 39 operating on an incline relative to the horizontalhas an idler sprocket 40 carried by the bracket 41 on the tie rod 22.This sprocket may from time to time be adjusted longitudinally of thetie rod to take up slack in the chain resulting from continuedoperation.

A platform or table 12 is supported be tween the side members 19 and 20of the main frame. A pair of belts 43 spaced as shown in Fig. 2 aredriven by the pulleys 4A secured upon the driven shaft and operate uponpulleys 4E5 turning idly upon the shaft 1-6 at the other end of theframe. A single belt 47 is operated between the belts as by anintermediate pulley 48 on the driven shaft 34 and passes over a smallpulley 4:9 turning idly upon the shaft 50 extending between the sideIDGIIlbGlS 23 of the machine frame. An eccentric pulley 48 is adjustablebetween the pulleys 48 and 49, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4,to raise the upper lap of the belt 47, for a purpose presently to bedescribed. The belts 43 and 1-7 have adjustable tensioning pulleys 51and 52 respectively, to secure practically constant tension of therespective belts in operation and thus to insure the proper feeding ofthe catalogs at all times.

The side members of the auviliary frame have guides 53 on their inneradjoining sides between which is vertically movable a ram 54. The latteris movable past the shaft 50 on one side thereof as appears in Fig. 4and is forked at its upper end to operate on opposite sides of the belt47. The forked portion of the ram 54 carries the table llb after.

sections 13 which preferably are of inverted U-shape to overhang thesides of the upper portion of the ram for a purpose presently to appear.The ram is adapted to be reciprocated in its ways by means of a rockerthe long arm of which is pivotally connected to the ram by means of alink 56 pivotally mounted on the cross rod 5? extending between spacedbearings provided on the ram. The rocker 56 operates upon a shatt andhas its short arm bifurcated and connected by means of a pitinan 59 to astrap 60 on the eccentric til driven, as will hereinafter appear, by theshaft 38 when the clutch 62 is thrown into engagement. The engagement ofthe clutch is dependent upon the swinging out of a throw-out linger 63normally operating in a groove (34 to hold a spring pressed latch 65 inretracted position from engagement in a socket 66 in the driven clutchelement 67. The latter, as shown, be ing pinned or otherwise rigidlysecured to the shaft 38 operates continuously therewith. Furtherreference to the precise manner of operation of the clutch will be madeherein- The throw-out linger (S3 oscillates with the shaft 68 when theproper impulse is transmitted thereto by the arm 69 operated by the pushrod 70. The latter has con nection with the short arm of a bell crank 71pivotally mounted upon the shaft 50 eX- tending transversely in themachine frame. The bell cranks 71, of which there is preferably one ateach side of the machine for operating push rods at opposite sides ofthe machine, carry the tripper 12 which preferably comprises a rolleroperating on a cross rod supported by the bell cranks 71 as shown. Thebell cranks are held yieldingly in the position shown by coiled tensionsprings 72 operating between an abutment 73 extending from the side ofthe frame and rigid therewith, and a washer Tl prevented fromlongitudinal movement on the push rod by means of a cotter pin or thelike. It will thus be seen that upon the arrival of a catalog or otherarticle being fed, the tripper 12 is engaged forcibly and thus operatesto throw out the finger 63 from engagement in the groove 6%. The clutchG2 is thereupon engaged when the latch 65 enters the socket 66 of thecontinuously operated clutch element 6. The eccentric (31 which, asshown, is pinned to the clutch element 62 is thereby operated and drawsdown upon the pitman 5.) so that the rocker 55 is rocked and therebycauses reciprocatory moven'ient of the ram 54 in its ways. The catalogupon the elevating table is thereby raised free of the belt 47 up intothe support 14. The table upon receding with the ram leaves the cata login the support in a manner to be forthwith described.

The support 1% comprises plates 7 sup ported in vertical posit-ionpreferably by brackets 76 secured upon the side members 23 of themachine frame. These plates rest upon shoulders 76 and are provided withopenings 77 at their lower ends through which projects the noses of thedogs 1?) pro viding lateral supports for the catalogs or other articlesheld in the support between the plates 75. The dogs 15 are pivotallymounted on rods 78 in the side members of the machine frame and are heldnormally in operative position by means of tension springs 79 operatingbetween the lower ends of the dogs and bars 80 fastened upon the outsideof the frame. The latter have adjusting screws 81 threading therein andar ranged to adjust the extent of normal projection. of the dogs in anobvious manner. Thus, as the catalogs are raised upon the elevatingtable in the operation of the ram 5%, the edges thereof ride upon andover the inclined under faces of the dogs, thus repelling the sameagainst tension of the springs 75). heir the catalog has passed thedogs, the latter are again immediately projected into operative positionand are effective upon the receding of the elevating table to supportthe catalog which has been raised into the support. It will, however, benoted that there is sutlicient clearance so that the dogs do notconstitute an obstruction to the operation of the elevating table inraising and lowering. After a succession of operations of the elevatingtable there will be astach of catalogs held .in the support and as eachsucceeding catalog is raised into the support it assumes a positionbottommost in the stack and the stack in the support is raised with eachcatalog suiiiciently to provide clearance for the latter so that whenthe elevating table is lowered the catalog which has been 'aised will beretained by the dogs and will be part of the stack held in the support.The overhanging sides or skirts on the table sections 13 prevent theintroduction of a catalog upon the belt 47 while the elevating table isin operation.

Then the stack of catalogs held in the support has attained apredetermined height the uppermost catalog will be in engagement withthe tripper 16. This member is carried by the shaft 82 held in brackets83 secured to the side members 23 of the machine frame. An arm 84 isfastened to the projecting end of the shaft 82 and has connection at itsfree end by means of a rod 85 with an arm 86 pivotally mounted upon theshaft 8'7 extending between the side members 28 of the machine frame.The arm 86 has a throw-out finger 88 fastened thereon and extendingoutwardly into a groove 89 in the driven clutch element 90 secured uponthe shaft 91 extending across the main frame of the machine between theside members 19 thereof. The finger 88 similarly to the clutch throwoutfinger63 controls a latch 92 in its relation to either of two sockets98- in the driving clutch element turning freely upon the shaft 91. Theclutch element 94 as shown in Fig. 6 has a spur gear 95 rigid therewithand meshing with a spur pinion 56 pinned or otherwise secured upon thedriven shaft which as before described is continuously rotated throughthe chain drive connection with the driven shaft 35. The gearing ratiois such that the shaft 91 is capable only of being driven at half thespeed of the shaft 38 and turns as fast as the aft 3:7. The purpose forthis difierence in iring speeds will presently appear. The h 90 like theclutch G2 in disengaged "LlOll to its driving clutch element when arethrow-out linger is disposed in the annular groove 99. However, as willpresently he cescrihc-d, upon the swinging of the finger 18 out ofemgagement in the groove 89, the latch 92 under the action of its springSi? is projected into either of the sockets 93 of the driving clutchelement so that the driven clutch element 90 turns with the drivingclutch element In this way the shaft 91 is driven to turn the crankdisks 98 at opposite sides of the machine. The latter haveZ11iO/ctl()l'i by means of a pitman 99 with the short arm of a bellcrank 100, the long arm of which is connected by means of a link 1101with a slide 102 operating in guideways 108 in the frame 101 projectinghorizontally from and secured to the side members 23 of the machineframe. The latter have slots 105i therein through which the shaft 106,extending through bearings 107 in the slide 102, is adapted to projectto have connection with the links 101 on the outside. The bearings 107of the slide 102 are spaced to receive fittings 108 angularly adjustableon the shaft 106. The ejector 17 formed preferably of two wires isadapted to be held in the littings 108. The latter comprises upper neckportions 109 in which one end of the Wires of the ejector fit andunderslung hollow cylindr cal bearings 110 in which the other end of thewires of the eject-or are engaged. Set screws 111 threaded in the slide102 engage the free ends of the cylindrical bearings 110 to adjust theangularity thereof relative to the shaft 106 and thereby to the support14:. In the operation of the crank disk 98 through a single revolutionthe ejector 17 is operated through a single reciprocation with the slide102 and is arranged to engage and move the stack held in the support 14.between the plates upon the dogs 15. The stack is arranged to be movedout upon the rack or table 18. The latter projects from and is tiltablysupported on the side members 23 of the frame and is arranged foradjustment at its outer end suitably by means of the adjusting prop 18.A plurality of bed rollers 112 provide for easy movement of the stackwhen ejected from the support.

The stacks are removed from the rack to be bound into bales or for otherpurposes. The tripper 16 is preferably capable of angular adjustment onthe shaft 82 relative to the clutch throw-out finger 88 for the purposeof hunting the height of stacks.

The catalogs as they are fed by the belts 43 upon the belt 17 toward thetripper 12 must engage the latter with a certain degree of force toinsure the operation of the clutch (32. It has been found that thetraction arising simply from the weight of the catalog resting upon thebelts is in certain instances not quite sufiicient so that the catalogsat certain times do not engage the tripper with the proper force. Thisis so particularly where the catalogs are relatively light and do notgain the desired amount of momentum in their travel over the feed belts.Under such circui'i'istances it is desirable to provide means toincrease the traction between the catalogs and the feed belts. T haveshown such a means in the form of a roller 113 carried upon the end ofan arm 114: adjustably mounted upon the rod 115 in the plates 116secured upon the sides of the frame 104.. The rod 115 as shown has anarm 117 provided with a set screw 118 arranged for adjustment relativeto an abutment 119 extending from one of the plates 116 or some othersuitable stationary object. The roller in lightly touching the catalogsas they pass beneath gives suflicient added traction between thecatalogs and the feed belts so that the catalogs are impelled againstthe tripper 12 with the requisite force to operate the clutch 62 andthereby put the elevating table into operation.

Where the catalogs are somewhat irregular in thickness or tend to bulgeunevenly because of faulty binding or the like. or due to the particularmode in which the same have been wrapped, or when a number of catalogsare stacked, particularly in stacks of a relatively considerable height,the stacks tend to be wobbly and unless means are provided to hold thesame, the stacks are frequently apt to collapse. For this reason Iprefer to bend the plates 7 5 inwardly near the upper free ends thereofsubstantially as shown in Fig. 3. In this way as the catalogs accumulatein the support the upper ones which would otherwise have no particularmeans of support against forward movement particularly, unless heldfrictionally at the sides, are rather firmly held in place so that uponthe operation of the ejector 17 uniform stacks are expelled from thesupport.

Referring to Fig. 9 in which the clutch 90 and a portion of its driveclutch element 94 is illustrated, it will be seen that the clutch is ofthat type commonly employed on punch presses and the like, and hasthrow-out fingers having their inner ends bevelled to cooperate with oneside of a taper slot 92 cut tion of the small arrow.

into one side of the latch 92. The latter is normally urged by thecoiled tension spring 97 into engagement in the socket 93 of the drivingclutch element 94 and when made cylindrical in form is prevented fromrotating in its bore by means of a screw 120 the ends of which engagesin a groove 121 extending longitudinally of the latch 92. Assuming thatthe driving clutch element 9 1 is turned in the direction indicated bythe small arrow, when the finger 88 is moved out of engagement in thegroove 89, the latch 92- under the tension of its spring 97 will bepro-- jected toward the driving clutch element 94 into one of thesockets 93 and the driven clutch element will thereby be turned with thedrive clutch element likewise in the direc- This rotation will of coursemove the latch 92 away from a position beneath the end of the throw-outfinger 88. The finger 88 is in the normal operation of the machine heldout from engagement in its groove for practically only an instant topermit only a single revolution of the driven clutch element. The latteris disengaged from driving relation by virtue of the introduction of thebeveled end 88 of the throw-out finger into the slot 92 and riding uponthe converging side of the slot to move the latch 92 when the latterhas, after a complete revolution, been brought around to a positionadjacent the end of the throw-out finger. In this way the latch iswithdrawn from engagement in the socket 93. Suitable braking means mayif desired be employed to insure the practically im mediate stoppage ofthe machine at the disengaged position shown in Fig. 9. The clutch 62 isoperated in an identical manner. This clutch cooperating with thedriving clutch element 67 which is turned in an opposite direction tothe driving clutch element 95 necessitates the operation of the clutchthrow-out finger 63 from the underside of the clutch for obviousreasons.

The operation of the machine is practically apparent from the foregoingdescription and only slight additional explanation would appear to benecessary. The catalogs are released successively from the machine inconnection with which the stacking machine of the present invention isemployed. These catalogs are fed by frictional engagement with the belts43 in the direction of the tripper 12 at the far end of the runway. Whenthe catalogs leave the belts 43 and enter upon the belt 17 they passbeneath the roller 113 which givesthem increased traction with the belt47 so that they are impelled with sulficient force against the tripper12 to operate the clutch 62. The catalog after engaging the tripper, andbefore being raised by the elevator, rests for an interval on theshoulders 76 and is raised at its rearward end slightly off the belt bythe eccentric pulley 48', that is the forward edge of the catalog restsupon the shoulders 76 clear of the belt, so that it is subject to theabrasion of the belt 47 only at its rearward end where the eccentricpulley raises the belt into engage ment with the catalog. In this waythe catalog is held firmly against the tripper 12 but is not apt to havethe freshly gummed flap of its wrapper loosened as it is otherwise aptto be because of the abrasive action of the belt. The latch upon theoperation of the clutch 62 engages in the socket 66 of the drivingclutch element 67 and thereby effects the operation of the eccentric 61.The operation of this eccentric is transmitted through the pitman 59 torock the rocker 55 and thereby operates the elevator in its ways. Thelatter is operated at approximately twice the speed of the ejector 17because of the speed of the shaft 38 as compared with the speed of theshaft 91. The reason for such difference in the speeds of operation ismanifest, the elevator must operate quickly to accommodate the catalogsas fast as they are discharged thereto while. on the other hand theejector must operate relatively slowly so that the stacks will not belikely to collapse due to their inertia. In operation the elevatorraises the catalog thereon past the dogs 15 up into the support 1 1-between the plates 75. As the table lowers, the catalog is retainedinthe support by the dogs. The operation just described is repeatedsuccessively until a stack of catalogs has been accumulated in, thesupport. Each catalog as it is raised into the support must needs raisethe stack already accumulated. therein in order to provide clearancefofitself. The stack is added to from the bottom in this manner until astack of a predetermined desired, height is produced. Thereupon thetripper 16, arranged preferably to operate when the last catalog of thestack is added to the stack from beneath. is arranged to throw out thefinger 88 from engagement in the groove 89. The latch 92 of the clutch90 is thereby permitted to be projected into one of the sockets 93 ofthe driving clutch element 94. The latter has two sockets rather thanthe one only provided in the clutch 62 because it operates at half thespeed of the clutch 62. The proper timing of the operation of theelevator and the ejector is thereby ensured. This will be apparent whenit is considered that sockets in the clutch elements will not be apt tolie alongside the latches immediately upon the swinging out of theclutch throw-out fingers. Thus the drive element in either clutch wouldhave to turn until a socket arrived adjacent the latch therefor. In thecase of the rapidly turning clutch 62, since there is only one sockettherein, there might have to be almost, a complete turn before suchregistry would be effected In the case of the clutch 90,- becausethereare two,

sockets therein, the maximum turning re quired would be only a halfrevolution. It is therefore seen that although the clutch turns onlyhalf as fast as the clutch 62 this is compensated for by the differencein the number of clutch sockets. The crank disks 98 are turned upon theengagement of clutch 90 and. through the medium of the pitman 99 and thebell crank 100, cause the reciprocation of the ejector 17 to expel thestack from the support upon the rack or table 18, from whence they maybe taken to be bound into bales or to be hauled away or to have otheroperations performed thereon. The ejector 1.7 being capable of pivotalmovement, there is avoided the likelihood of jamming, because of theoperation almost concurrently of the ram 54 while the ejector is in theact of moving a stack out of the support 14. In the event of engagement,the ejector merely swings up and out of the way as it recedes and whenfully retracted will of course reassuine its normal position. Theejector is, it will be seen, capable also of adjustment as indicated bythe dotted line position thereof shown in Fig. 4. This is to give thefront face thereof a rearward inclination so that the lowermost portionof the stack in the support 14 is first to be engaged. Also this causesthe stack to recline somewhat on the ejector as it is ejected from thesupport. This materially assists in the ejection of the stacks. Combinedwith this adjustment I prefer to adjust the rack r or table 18 as shownin the dotted lines in Fig. 4 so that as the stack rides thereon it isslackened in its movement by riding up the incline of the rack. Also themomentum of the stack derived in its move.- ment is sufficient as itcomes to rest to cause it to straighten out to a vertical relation fromits reclined relation. The elevating table and the reciprocating ejectorare both operated through a single reciprocation through the medium ofthe clutches and 90 the details of which are similar and the operationof which has been described in detail above.

It will of course be apparent that although the machine is particularlysuited for use in connection with the stacking of catalogs.

the invention is not in any sense to be construed as limited to thisspecial use. Although it is herein contemplated to stack catalogs of auniform thickness so that the tripper 16 will operate to insure thatonly a predetermined number of catalogs will he placed in each stack. itis readily perceived that catalogs or books or other articles of varyingthicknesses may be stacked without any considerable modification of thedetails of the operating mechanism comprising the machine. In the latterevent the tripper would be operable merely to insure substantialuniformity of heights of stacks.

In the appended claims it has been the endeavor to include alllegitimate modifieations and adaptations of the invention which wouldoccur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a stacking mechanism, the con'ibination of means for placingarticles in stacked relation, means for limiting the number of articlesplaced in a stack by limiting the height of each stack, and means formoving said articles in stacked relation.

2. In a mechanism for handling articles, a support for a plurality offlat articles, means for feeding articles toward said support to form astack, and means effected by tie stack when said support carries apredetermined quantity of articles to move the articles.

3. In a mechanism for handling articles, a support for feeding articlestoward a cer tain point adjacent said support means to receive saidarticles at said point and to move the same to said support, and meansat said point adapted by the arrival of articles to cause the actuationof said last mentioned means.

4. In a mechanism for handling articles, a support for feeding articlestoward a certain point adjacent said support, means to receive saidarticles at said point and to move the same to said support, means atsaid point adapted by the arrival of articles to cause the actuation ofsaid last mentioned means, and means adapted to limit the loading ofsaid support with articles.

In a mechanism for handling articles, a support for feeding articlestoward a certain point adjacent said support, means to receive saidarticles at said point and to move the same to said support, means atsaid point adapted by the arrival of articles to cause the actuation ofsaid last incntioned means, and means adapted to limit the loading ofsaid support with articles. and means brought into operation by saidlast mentioned means adapted to move said articles. 1

6. In a stacking mechanism. a support for articles. means adapted toload articles upon said support in stacked relation, means adapted tomove the stacked articles, and means adapted to operate when saidsupport has been loaded a prcdeterminahle amount to cause the operationof said stack moving means.

7. In a machine for handling articles. a support for holding articles ingrouped relation, means for feeding articles toward said support to beassembled in groups, means adapted to handle grouped articles, and meansadapted when said support has articles assembled into a group of apredeterminalole size or quantity to cause the. op-

eration of said last mentioned means.

In a mechanism "for handling articles, a runway adapted to have articlesmoved thereon indissociated relation, a rack coextensive with saidrunway but at an elevated level relative thereto, a support for articlesat the level of said rack adapted to support articles in stackedrelation, elevating means at the end of said runway to raise articles tosaid support and to group the articles in stacked relation, and meansadapted to move said articles in stacked relation olii' said supportonto said rack.

9. In a mechanism for handling articles, a runway adapted to havearticles moving thereon in dissociated relation, a racl; disposed at anelevated level relative to said runway, a support for articles abovesaid runway adapted to support articles in stacked relation, elevatingmeans at the end of said runway for raising articles to said support togroup the same in stacked relation, means adapted for moving saidarticles in stacked relation ott said support upon said rack, and meansadapted to limit the loading of articles upon said support arranged tobring said last mentioned means into operation.

10. In a mechanism for handling articles, a runway adapted to havearticles moved thereon in dissociated relation, a rack above saidrunway, a support for articles above said runway adapted to supportarticles in stacked relation, elevating means at the end of said runwayfor raising articles to said support, and means operable by theengagement with said articles upon the arrival thereof beneath saidsupport adapted to bring said elevating means into operation, and meansadapted to move said articles old said support onto said rack.

11. In a mechanism for handling articles, a runway adapted to havearticles moved thereon in dissociated relation, a rack above saidrunway, a support for articles above said runway adapted to supportarticles in stacked relation, elevating means at the end of said runwayfor raising articles to said support, and means operableby theengagement with said articles upon the arrival thereof beneath saidsupport adapted to bring said elevating means into operation and meansadapted to move said articles off said support onto said raclr.

12. In a mechanism for handling articles, a runway adapted to havearticles moved thereon in dissociated relation, a support for articlesabove said runway adapted to support articles in stacked relation,elevating means at the end of said runway for raising articles to saidsupport, and means operable by the engagement with said articles uponthe arrival thereof beneath sa d support adapted to bring said elevatingmeans into operation.

13, In agnechanism for handling articles,

a runway adapted to have articles moved thereon in dissociated relation,a rack above said runway, a support for articles above said runwayadapted to support articles in stacked relation, elevating means heneathsaid support for raising articles from said runway to said support, atrip adjacent said elevating mcans adapted upon the engagement ofarticles therewith to bring said elevating means into operation, saidsupport being adapted to hold said articles in stacked relation, anejector adjacent said support to move said articles in stacked relationoff said support upon said rack, and a trip for said support adapted tolimit the height of the stack of articles loaded thereon and arrangedupon the attainment of a certain height to cause the operation of saidejector.

14-. In a mechanism for handling articles, a horizontal runway havingmeans for if eding articles thereacross, a support adapted to have saidarticles loaded thereon in stacked relation, a rack adjacent saidsupport and ejecting means adjacent said sup port to eject the stack ofarticles therefrom upon said rack.

15. In a stacking mechanism, a runwav adapted to have articles fedthereacross in dissociated relation, a rack at an elevated level adaptedto have articles placed thereon in stacked relation, elevating means forsaid runway adapted to raise articles to the level of said rack, asupport at the level of said rack adapted to hold said articles, saidelevating means being adapted successively to raise articles to saidsupport to be held thereby at the level of said rack, each succeedingload of said elevating means being adapted to raise the previous loadsdeposited with said support and to be bottommost in turn in the stackformed on said support by repeated operations of said elevating means,and means for ejecting said articles in stacked relation from saidsupport upon said rack.

16. In a stacking mechanism, arunway adapted to have articles fedthereacross in dissociated relation, a rack at an elevated level adaptedto have articles placed there on in stacked relation, elevating meansfor said runway adapted to raise articles to the level of said rack,support at the level of said rack adapted to hold said articles. saidelevating means being adapted successively to raise articles to saidsupport to be held thereby at the level of said rack, each succeedingload of said elevating means being adapted to raise the previous loadsdeposited with said support and to be hottommost in turn in the stackformed on said support by repeated operations of said elevating means,means to limit the extent of loading of said support by said elevatingmeans, and meansadapted when a load of a predetern'iined size has beendeposited on said support to eject the load from said support upon saidrack.

17. In a stacking mechanism, a runway along which articles are adaptedto be fed, a support disposed over the end oi? said runway in spacedrelation to permit the passage of an article therebeneath on saidrunway, elevating means operatingbeneath said support to raise articlesfrom said runway to said support, said support being adapted to receivesaid articles throu h the bottom thereof and to hold the same, a rack atthe levcl ot said SllPPOl'lI, and means adapted to eject said articlesfrom said support onto said rack.

18. In a stacking mechanism, a runway along which articles are adaptedto be fed, a conveyor in said runway adapted to expose partially theunder side of the article being conveyed, a support disposed over theend of said runway in spaced relation to permit the passage of anarticle therebe neath on said runway, and elevating means operatingbeneath said support transverse to the conveyor adapted to engage theexposed under portion of the article and to raise the article from saidrunway to said support, said support being adapted to receive saidarticle through the bottom thereof and to hold the same.

19. In a stacking mechanism, arunway along which articles are adapted tobe fed, a support disposed over the end of said runway in spacedrelation to permit the passage of an article therebeneath on saidrunway, elevating means operating beneath said support to raise articlesfrom said runway to said support, said support being adapted to receivesaid articles through the bottom thereof and to hold the same, a rack atthe level of said support, means adapted to eject said articles fromsaid support onto said rack, and means spaced from the bottom of saidsupport adapted upon the accun'iulation oi. a predeterminable quantityof articles in said support to operate said ejecting means.

20. In a mechanism of the character described the combination of feedbelts adapted to impel articles frictionally in a certain direction,means adapted to receive said articles to raise the same above the levelof said belts, a trip member adapted to be engaged by said articles uponarrival at said raising means adapted thereby to place said raisingmeans into operation, and means operating to increase the tractionbetween said belts and said articles when the latter reach the vicinityof the said trip member to insure the proper force of engagementtherewith of said articles to cause the operation of said raising means.

21. In a stacking mechanism, means for feeding articles along a runway,a support above the one end of said runway, an elevating table disposednormally beneath said support at the end and in. the plane of saidrunway adapted to be operated through a single reciprocation to raise anarticle to said. support and to return to normal position, a trippcr atthe end of said runway adapted to be operated by the engagementot anarticle being fed to cause the operation of said taale, said table beingarranged to operate successively to form a stack of articles held bysaid support, the stack being added. to from beneath by articles raisedon said table and being arranged to be lifted by said table with thearticles as they are added to the stack, an ejector normally disposedalongside said support for ejecting said articles from said support instacked relation adapted to be operated through a single reciprocationto eject the articles and thereupon to return to normal position, and atrip for said support adapted upon the accumulation of a stack of apredeterminable height to be operated in the lifting of said stack withan article on said table to cause the ope z tion out said ejector.

22. In a mechanism for handling articles, means for feeding articlestoward a certain point, a support disposed above said point and adaptedto have said articles fed beneath the same, means adjacent said pointfor raising said articles to said support, said support having a bottomportion adapted to open to admit articles and thereupon to close on saidarticles to hold the same, and means adjacent said bottom portionadapted to eject said articles from said support.

23. In mechanism for handling articles, means for feeding articlestoward a certain point, a tripping device operated by the arrival of anarticle, a support disposed above said point and adapted to have said.articles fed beneath the same, and means adjacent said point for raisingsaid articles to said support, said means being operated by saidtripping device, said support having a bottom portion adapted to open toadmit arti cles and thereupon to close on said articles to hold thesame.

24:. In a mechanism for handling articles, means for feeding articlestoward a certain point, a support disposed above said point and adaptedto have said articles fed beneath the same, means at said point forraising said articles into said support, said support having meansadjacent its lower end adapted to be receded to admit articles andthereupon to return to normal position to hold the same, said raisingmeans being adapted to operate successively to raise articles into saidsupport to form a stack therein, means spaced above the lower end ofsaid support adapted to limit the height of the stacks therein, andmeans adapted to eject the stacks from the support.

25. In a mechanism of the character described, a support for articlescomprising means adapted to permit the passage of articles thereby oneway but to retain the articles against movementpast the same theopposite way whereby to hold the articles, means adapted to movearticles toward said support past said retaining means, to form a stack,means to move said stack laterally off said support, and means above thestack operated by a predetermined height thereof to operate saidremoving means, whereby the stacking operation may be automaticallycontinuous.

26. In a mechanism of the character described adapted for stackingarticles, means for moving the stacks of articles comprising areciprocatory member presenting a face to the vertical side of thestacks inclined therefrom whereby said member engages and is effectivein moving the lowermost articles of the stack first.

27. In a. mechanism of the character described adapted for stackingarticles in relatively high stacks, reciprocatory means for moving thestacks operating with an accelerated motion but adapted to prevent thecollapse of the stacks due to the inertia of the uppermost articlesthereof effective upon starting from stationary position and again uponstopping.

28. In amechanism of the character described adapted for stackingarticles in relatively high stacks, means for moving the stacks ofarticles adapted to cause the upper portion of the stacks to reclinewhen the same are moved from stationary position whereby the stacks uponstopping by virtue of the inertia, which again is effective on stopping,will reassume its initial vertical form.

29. In a mechanism of the character described adapted for stackingarticles, means for moving the stacks of articles, and a support toreceive the same, said support being inclined upwardly at the pointwhere said stacks enter thereon whereby to slacken the same in theirmovement and to dissipate the inertia of the stacks tending to cause thestacks to collapse.

30. In a mechanism of the character described adapted for stackingarticles, a support adapted to receive the stacks of articles, and meansadapted to move the stacks to said support, said means being arranged tooperate to cause said stacks to recline slightly in moving fromstationary position, and said support being inclined at the point wherethe stacks enter thereon whereby to cause the reclined stacks toreassume an upright vertical position when the same come to a stop onsaid support.

81. In a mechanism of the character described, a support, means adaptedto place articles in said support to form a stack therein, and areciprocatory ejector adjacent said support adapted to eject the stackstherefrom, said ejector being tiltable in variable angular relation tosaid support.

32. In a mechanism of the character described, an elevated support, anelevator op erating therebeneath to deposit articles in said support, arack adjacentsaid support on one side adapted to receive articles fromsaid support, and an ejector reciprocable over said support to ejectarticles therefrom onto said rack, said ejector being pivotally mountedto permit upward projection thereof in the event of interference withsaid elevator in said support.

33. In a mechanism of the character described, an elevated support, anelevator op erating therebeneath to deposit articles in said support, arack adjacent said support on one side adapted to receive articles fromsaid support, and an ejector reciprocable over said support to ejectarticles therefrom onto said rack, said ejector being pivotally mountedto permit upward projection thereof in the event of interference withsaid elevator in said support, and having an adjustment to vary theangular relation thereof with respect to said support.

34;. In a mechanism of the character described, a support, means forplacing articles in said support to form stacks therein, a rack adjacentsaid support adapted to re ceive said stacks, and a reciprocatoryejector adjacent said support adapted to eject the stacks therefrom,said ejector being adjustable to variable angular relation with respectto said support, and said rack being adjustable to variable angularrelation with respect to said support.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto afIiXed my vsignature.

SIGVVALD GRUNLEE.

